2000-2009: The Decade in Pictures

January 1, 2000 - Just moments after midnight, Bill Gutknecht, right, gives praise in front of three newly-illuminated crosses outside Bellevue Baptist Church. The crosses, the tallest of which is 150 feet high, were lit at the stroke of midnight as part of a special ceremony at the church.

January 26, 2000 - Robert Glen Coe yells through his gag, in court, while his attorneys try to prove that he is incompetent to be executed. The convicted child-killer was executed at Riverbend Maximum Security Institution in Nashville on April 19, 2000.

March 8, 2000 - A routine fire call that erupted in bloodshed left firefighters reeling. A firefighter just back from a leave emerged from a burning home in southeast Memphis, ambushed and killed two Fire Department colleagues and a Sheriff's deputy. Inside the house was the body of the suspect's wife, Stacey Williams; they were newlyweds. Frederick Williams was charged in the deaths of his wife, deputy Rupert Peete and firefighters William Blakemore and Javier Lerma. On CNN, President Clinton said of the incident: "It's a tragic thing. . . . The firefighters, police, they put their lives on the line a lot, but they don't expect to be shot at the scene of a burning house."

April 14, 2000 - Memphis Redbird Stubby Clapp starts the Redbirds' 2000 season opener against the Iowa Cubs with a flip as he takes the field with teammates. Baseball fans from all over the Mid-South flocked to Downtown Memphis' new jewel, AutoZone Park, eager to take home a memory.

September 7, 2000 - Steven Ford does some shadow boxing down Union Avenue as part of his workout routine. Although he is probably not strong enough to knock down poles, the Memphis police officer likes to stay fit so he has an edge on the streets.

November 22, 2000 - Nelson Mandela hugs Lakeytra Addison, a 4th grader from Cummings Elementary School. Lakeytra was one of the children from 150 schools who presented books, bookmarks and money to the Nelson Mandela Children's Fund at the Freedom Award Public Forum at the Temple of Deliverance Church of God in Christ. Mandela was in Memphis to receive the National Civil Rights Museum's International Freedom Award.

April 27, 2001 - The spot where the truck of missing code inspector Mickey Wright was found burned in Marshall County, Miss. In 2007, Dale V. Mardis pleaded no contest to second-degree murder charges in the case and was sentenced to 15 years.

July 3, 2001 - Fireworks light up the night sky at Shelby Farms for an Independence Day celebration, as the country prepared for its 225th birthday.

August 1, 2001 - Memphis Police Officer Ken Roach yells at a passing car to pull over on I-40 westbound just east of the new bridge. He and officer Greg Hudgens were working a special detail to try to reduce speeding in the work zone there. The motorist he was yelling at was speeding in excess of 15 miles per hour while talking on a cell phone.

September 13, 2001 - Following the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, Timothy Bethany, U.S. Air Force 186th TRG Ret., of Meridian, Miss., participates in a candlelight service at the University of Memphis. "I retired eight years ago and this is the first time I've worn this uniform since," said Bethany, who spent 10 years with the U.S. Air Force and is now a U of M student. "But, I'd be the first one on a plane If I am needed."

October 23, 2001 - Firefighter Mike Baker tends to a victim covered in paint that exploded from cans during at a wreck at James and Warford. The victim, who did not appear seriously injured, was taken to a hospital.

November 3, 2001 - Fourth Bluff Hounds Huntsman Dickie Watson discusses the hunt route before the Blessing of the Hounds to mark the opening of the Rossville club's hunting season. Some 40 riders turned out in formal hunting attire to join in the fox hunt.

November 17, 2001 - Tony Massenburg, left, Nick Anderson, and Brevin Knight celebrate after a Pau Gasol shot in the final minutes of the Grizzlies win over the Cavs. It took nearly 35 years of chasing a professional sports team, 17 days into the NBA regular season and eight exasperating losses. Finally, though, Memphis got to experience the single-most important first for its Grizzlies: Victory. One would have thought the Grizzlies' 98-93 win against the Cleveland Cavaliers counted for more than just one in the standings judging how an announced crowd of 13,874 reacted in The Pyramid.

April 5, 2002 - Flowers and a wreath were left Friday at the site where a daycare van crashed the day before, killing four children and the driver. Mourners stopped to pay their respects as National Transportation Safety Board personnel were studying the crash.

April 27, 2002 - Participants in the Gumball 3000 Rally passed though Memphis on their way to Los Angeles. Driving his 1960 Corvette through the gates of Graceland is James Loutit, of New York, and his partner, Rob Bibow, of London. The rally began in New York City.

June 8, 2002 - Boxer Mike Tyson is down for the count at The Pyramid. Lennox Lewis, the defending WBC and IBF world heavyweight champion, stood tall and tough, and retained his world titles with a devastating knockout of the former two-time world champ Tyson at 2:25 of the eighth round.

September 11, 2002 - A rice field being harvested near Earle, Ark., as growers are wrapping up the harvest of another bumper crop. With a tradition of rice farming dating back a full century, Arkansas is by far the nation's leading producer of the grain, accounting for 47 percent of the U.S. harvest.

November 23, 2002 - Memphis Grizzlies Stromile Swift (left) and Pau Gasol celebrate the Grizzlies' win over the Washington Wizards at The Pyramid. After losing their first 13 games of the season, the Grizzlies put an end to their worst start with an 85-74 victory.

December 23, 2002 - Affiong Enyenihi, 2, of Collierville, closes her eyes in delight and snuggles right into Santa's embrace at Wolfchase Galleria, her first-ever visit with the jolly old elf. In the face of Christmas bliss, all the preparations and long lines seem suddenly worthwhile. Her parents, Rose and Henry, are both originally from Nigeria. They met while Henry, now a physician at the Arlington Developmental Center, was on a medical mission to his homeland. After moving to Memphis in 1997, they were married.

May 2, 2003 - Music legend Isaac Hayes greets children from the Zion Day Care and Learning Center at the Hoopers Chapel AME Church inside the Stax Museum of American Soul Music. The museum officially opened with a splicing of the tape ceremony. Hayes died in 2008.

May 3, 2003 - Ben Harper fans cheer for their man under the beam of a spotlight shining on the Autozone Stage during the 2003 Beale Street Music Festival at Tom Lee Park.

May 5, 2003 - As another spring thunderstorm rolls into Memphis, a rainbow lights up the skyline.

June 13, 2003 - Dalia Ayesh (center) and members of the Muslims in Memphis Al-Isra Troupe wait to take the stage in the "A Community in Love" multicultural celebration in front of City Hall. The celebration, hosted by Mayor Willie Herenton and the City's Office of Multicultural & Religious Affairs, included multilingual pledges and multicultural performances, exhibits and foods from around the world.

June 15, 2003 - A Memphis firefighter strings hose from his truck as fire department companies battle a blaze at the Family Dollar at 3732 North Watkins in Frayser. Lt. Trent Kirk, 39, died that night when the roof of the Family Dollar Store collapsed. Pvt. Charles Zachary, also 39, died early the next morning of injuries from the fire. Their names were later added to the memorial wall outside the Fire Museum Downtown that lists 50 firefighters killed in the line of duty since 1880.

August 1, 2003 - Pam Wingo passes time reading a book on her screened in porch where the addition of a few battery-powered fans makes the heat livable at her home on Watson in the aftermath of what was dubbed as "Hurricane Elvis."

October 30, 2003 - Pandas Ya Ya, left, and Le Le were together outdoors for the first time at the Memphis Zoo after arriving April 7 on a 10-year loan.

December 16, 2003 - University of Memphis head coach Tommy West celebrates the Tigers' 27-17 win over North Texas during the New Orleans Bowl. West, who took the program to five bowls in nine years, would be fired in 2009 after a third losing season in four years.

January 22, 2004 - The family of Ahado Adan, right, offers sanctuary and familiarity to fellow Somali Bantu refugees Mohamed Aden, left, and father Abdalla Abdi, seated, as they are welcomed into one of the homes of a small but growing community of Bantu refugees in Memphis. Nearly 12,000 Bantu refugees have spent most of the past decade languishing in camps along the dangerous Somali-Kenyan border. Descendants of slaves taken from Tanzania and northern Mozambique in the late nineteenth century to the southern Somali coast, the Bantu have remained a persecuted minority in Somalia and cannot return to the homes they fled there.

April 14, 2004 - The Reverend Al Green shows his satisfaction in the fit of his graduation gown in preparation to receive an Honorary Doctorate from LeMoyne-Owen College in May. Green was on campus to be fitted by Mae Cleaves and later sang a rendition of "Amazing Grace" with the LeMoyne-Owen Gospel Choir.

April 20, 2004 - Sherwood Elementary School first grade teacher Dianne Pfund leads her class in from recess. Pfund, who got polio when she was 12 years old, is retiring after 38 years in the school district.

May 26, 2004 - Inmates help Robert Savage (left) bury babies in a trench in Potter's Field, the county's public cemetery. Memphis has the highest rate of infant mortality among the nation's 60 largest cities. More than 14,000 bodies, mostly babies, lay beneath the earth about one mile north of Wolfchase Mall. Many are buried with no ceremony or visitors at all.

June 15, 2004 - On July 5, 1954, the trio of Bill Black, Scotty Moore and Elvis Presley played for Sam Phillips in the studio of Memphis Recording Service. They started playing around 7 p.m. They played Bing Crosby's "Harbor Lights" and Leon Payne's "I love You Because." Around midnight, after hours of a mundane session, they took a break. Elvis started fooling around and singing the Arthur "Big Boy" Crudup song "That's All Right (Mama)." Phillips heard the trio playing and loved what he heard. They worked on the song a few times late into the night until Sam had a hit.

August 18, 2004 - Carey Nickson, 46, known as "Hornblower" by his neighbors, blows a few tunes in the early evening outside his Butler Street apartment. The nearby FedExForum is reshaping Downtown. It's also reshaping the neighborhood in the core of Zip Code 38126, one of the poorest in the country.

September 5, 2004 - (Left to Right) Rev. Edgar Marshall, Samuel Moore, Michael Moore, Willie Word and Albert Richardson baptize candidates yearly in Moon Lake in Lula Mississippi. This spot has been used for baptism by small churches in the Northwest Delta for over 100 years. Sacred songs sung in a congregational a capella-style, that predates modern gospel music, are sung by the crowd as the candidates are baptized.

April 30, 2005 - Hubert Sumlin performs in the Blues Tent during the Beale Street Music Festival at Tom Lee Park.

May 26, 2005 - State Sen. John Ford in the back seat of an unmarked car at the Clifford Davis Federal Building in Memphis around 11:30 a.m., arriving from Nashville after being arrested as part of the Tennessee Waltz operation. Ford is serving 19 years in federal prison, five of it stemming from a bribery conviction in Memphis and another 14 involving his 2008 conviction in Nashville of honest-services wire fraud.

June 23, 2005 - A treeless subdivision lies to the west of Berryhill Road, and just north of Cordova High School, while heavy equipment clears trees to make room for another subdivision on the east side.

July 10, 2005 - Destiny's Child performs at FedExForum as part of their "Destiny Fulfilled" tour. From left: Kelly Rowland, Beyonce Knowles and Michelle Williams.

August 12, 2005 - Elvis Week is here once again and fans from across the world have descended upon Graceland to pay tribute to the King. Holding a cardboard cutout of Elvis in the shops of Graceland are (from left) Nadya and Sonya Djen, 32-year-old twin sisters from Paris, France. This was their fourth visit to Graceland. Their fan club alone has over 800 members in France, with 60 of them here this week.

August 29, 2005 - A shrimp boat leans on the washed-out Popps Ferry Bridge in Biloxi, Miss., as Nick Myrick, left, and Andy Cosper brave the last of Hurricane Katrina.

September 7, 2005 - Gospel singer Michael Speaks got on top of this minivan to sing to all the Hurricane Katrina evacuees in line at the American Red Cross Mid-South Chapter. Many were moved and uplifted by his performance of "Jesus Is Real." Speaks and actress Kirsty Alley were at the Red Cross in Memphis to try to spread cheer.

September 24, 2005 - New Iberia, La., resident Drew Suire is embraced by his aunt Donna Cassisa (left) and his mother Mona Suire (right) after he returned from their flooded homes on Bob Street. The area was quickly inundated with water from Hurricane Rita.

February 10, 2006 - The snow fell in Memphis, to some's delight, and not so for others. Four-and-a-half-year-old Ava Gray is clearly delighted as she catches some fresh flakes in her front yard in Midtown.

March 10, 2006 - University of Memphis head coach John Calipari reacts to an official's call during semifinal action of their C-USA tournament game against Houston in Memphis. The Tigers defeated Houston, 68-54.

May 18, 2006 - Tim Bethany, as Ms. Piggy, led the Swine & Dine cooking team's show stopping-performance at the Memphis in May World Championship Barbecue Cooking Contest at Tom Lee Park. Cooking teams and visitors from all over the U.S. and foreign countries came to Memphis for the festival.

September 15, 2006 - Gwen Nickerson, of Memphis, center, screams alongside more than 1,000 other fans of Justin Timberlake as he made a Beale Street concert appearance on ABC's "Good Morning America."

October 6, 2006 - Firefighters battle flames at the Court Square annex building, one of several buildings that caught fire in Downtown Memphis in an early-morning blaze. From this angle, the Lincoln American Tower can be seen behind it.

October 6, 2006 - First United Methodist Church member Jamie Lineager watches firefighters put out the blaze at her church in Downtown Memphis. The historic church was built in 1890 and is located at the corner of Poplar and Second.

December 3, 2006 - Dr. Morris Ray and other aviation enthusiasts take in the scenic panoramas nearly every weekend from their cockpits high above the Mississippi River. Internationally renowned, but often locally scorned, the Mississippi River is as misunderstood as it is mighty.

January 19, 2007 - With one quick strike of her pole, Memphis Animal Shelter's Amy Sewell fends off a charging female pit bull in the parking lot of Memphis Fire Station #35 at 3305 Mendenhall. Moments after snagging the two stray pits, Sewell indicated the incident was by far the scariest moment of her time chasing dogs. "I thought she had me for a minute there," said Sewell, with a weak smile.

April 10, 2007 - Mary Winkler leaves the McNairy County Justice Center as jury selection for her trial continued. Winkler was convicted of voluntary manslaughter nine days later in the shotgun slaying of her husband, Matthew, a Church of Christ minister, at their home in Selmer. Winkler was charged with first-degree murder, but convinced a jury that she had suffered years of physical and emotional abuse from her husband. She was sentenced to three years in prison but served only five months in jail, followed by two months in a mental health treatment facility and is on probation for the remainder of her 3-year sentence. In 2008, full custody of the couple's three children was returned to Winkler.

April 11, 2007 - Anna Ives, of Memphis, is one of about 3,000 children diagnosed with a brain tumor this year. Following the surgery to remove the tumor, she rests in the recovery room at LeBonheur. When she was able to speak again, she asked family members to "kiss her boo boo."

June 2, 2007 - Jermain Fields, 23, weeps at the edge of his brother's grave in a Raleigh cemetery. Charles E. Henry, 34, an open Gangster Disciple better known as 'Picklehead' on the street, was one of six murder victims Memorial Day Weekend. His mother Gwendolyn Henry says of police: "They saw all those tattoos on him and they knew what that meant. But they still treated his murder like he was a human being. And I appreciated that."

September 24, 2007 - (Left to right) Stephen Overall, Lindsay Johnson, Logan Greggs and Dexter Stafford spin upside down high above the Mid-South Fair while riding the Spin Out. The fair is being forced to leave its century-old home at the Mid-South Fairgrounds following the 2008 event. The 2009 fair was held at the DeSoto Civic Center.

October 20, 2007 - Rudy Williams leads a funeral procession down Beale Street for the late Ernest Withers. The band played "Precious Lord, Take My Hand" as they passed Withers' studio at 333 Beale. Withers, 85, spent more than 60 years documenting history from the blues music of Beale to the Civil Rights Movement. "He put together a living legacy. Thank God he did it. We are blessed as a people, black and white, that he amassed such a wonderful collection of pictures," said Benjamin Hooks.

October 24, 2007 - Manassas High School junior Markees Smith, 15, is escorted to police by a Memphis City Schools officer with his mother following behind after she returned him to the school. Smith accidentally shot fellow junior Anthony Williams, 16, in the arm during class. After 152 days in lockup, Smith went on to graduate high school in 2009 and was planning to attend college. "I'm just ready for the next chapter of my life, " Markees said, smiling after he walked off the stage at graduation.

November 6, 2007 - Tears of joy stream down the face of Mother Sharon A. Manning, of Waterbury, Conn., as she throws her head back during the first service at the Cook Convention Center for the 100th annual Church of God in Christ Holy Convocation.

January 21, 2008 - On the national holiday given over to celebrate Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s life, Elmore Nickelberry (right) was one of those who participated in the march that launched Memphis Cares, a local branch of a national mentoring movement. Children wore signs declaring "I Want To Be A Man," a takeoff on the iconic I AM A MAN signs held by those striking sanitation workers Dr. King came to Memphis to support in 1968. Nickelberry was one of those sanitation workers. He is still on the job today.

February 6, 2008 - Union University's Lindsay Parrish, of Memphis, gets a hug from fellow student Eric Uwiringigimana, of Rawanda, as they look for the wreckage of her car at the school in Jackson, Tenn., where a tornado ripped through dorms the night before. Parrish was injured when her dorm collapsed from the storm. The tornado that tore through Union's campus was one of several that touched down in West Tennessee overnight, doing millions in damage and taking several lives in the process.

February 8, 2008 - Nine-year-old Anna Mae He as her family prepares to return to China. Her parents, Jack and Casey He, have been in the U.S. without status while they fought through the court system to regain custody of their eldest daughter from Jerry and Louise Baker, who had raised Anna since she was a month old. The Chinese nationals are leaving the country voluntarily with their three American-born children in the hope they can come back. Andy, 7, and Avita, 5, were also born in Memphis.

March 3, 2008 - Family members wait in a car during a downpour half a block away from the house at 722 Lester where six people were killed and three other children were taken to the hospital. The three children, ages 4 months and 5 and 9 years, were critically wounded in the attack and have since recovered. A reward fund for information about the massacre quickly grew to $81,000. Within days, Jessie Dotson, the brother of victim Cecil Dotson, was charged with the crime. Jessie Dotson had been released from prison just weeks earlier for a 1994 homicide.

April 5, 2008 - Memphis Tigers teammates Antonio Anderson (left) and Chris Douglas-Roberts celebrate their 78-63 victory over UCLA during Final Four action in San Antonio, Texas. Two days later, the Tigers lost the championship game to Kansas.

June 5, 2008 - Memphis City Schools superintendent candidate Dr. Kriner Cash answers questions during a public forum in the main auditorium at MCS headquarters on Avery. Cash was later named superintendent of Memphis City Schools, chosen unanimously by the school board. His plan is to focus on academics, school safety, professional growth, constituent service and business operations. Cash gets a base salary of $258,000 annually for four years.

August 22, 2008 - Wearing bandages from his temporary release from the hospital, fire survivor Darius Poole, 16, rests his head on his mother's empty casket and looks at the other six empty caskets representing his siblings and cousins who died in a fire in Orange Mound. The blaze took seven lives in the Poole family. The bodies have not yet been released from the medical examiner. Brothers Darius and D'Andre survived the fire along with Rochelle Russ, the pregnant girlfriend of Deon Poole. Deon is the 18-year-old who died after running into the burning house to save his family.

August 23, 2008 - Officer Todd Ledgerwood keeps an eye on the citizens of Memphis from inside the Blue C.R.U.S.H crow's nest on Beale. The mobile unit is placed in a public area as a constant reminder to those below that the law is watching.

September 17, 2008 - Another year has passed, and The Pyramid still sits empty. As of December, 2009, the City Council has agreed to give Bass Pro Shops a three-month extension on a lease agreement for The Pyramid that the company signed in February.

October 10, 2008 - A baby giraffe was born at the Memphis Zoo. The mother, Marilyn, carried the baby for 15 months. The baby was over five feet tall at birth.

October 27, 2008 - Frank Cheatham, who turned 35 on Monday, kisses his daughter Madison, 13, goodbye outside the James A. Gardner Armory in Dyersburg as he prepares to deploy to Iraq with the Tennessee Army National Guard's 168th Military Police Battalion.

November 4, 2008 - Barack Obama supporter Rosemary Scott, center, celebrates in Downtown Memphis as Obama is named the winner of the presidential election.

December 14, 2008 - Ann Margaret Hedges plays with her daughter, Parker, 4, during the Brooks Museum Light Festival at the Levitt Shell. Hundreds of people were on hand to watch the lights and listen to the Christmas music in the mild Sunday evening weather. The light festival featured crafts and games for children, music, Santa and carriage rides through Overton Park.

March 26, 2009 - University of Memphis' Shawn Taggart weeps on the bench near the end of their loss to Missouri during their Sweet 16 match-up at University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Ariz.

May 15, 2009 - Kerry Synder blends in with her surroundings at the tent of Sow Luau, her cooking team in the Memphis in May World Championship Barbecue Cooking Contest. Each pig head represents the honored country for the past 17 years.

June 11, 2009 - Jimmy Walker reacts to a bad shot off the seventh tee during the opening round at the St. Jude Classic at Southwind. Walker finished 5-under for the day, putting him second behind Brian Gay, who went on to win the tournament.

August 8, 2009 - Roger Fakes Sr., 70, of Memphis, reacts with others to a speaker at a town hall meeting hosted by U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen in Downtown Memphis. Later, Fakes spoke of his participation in the meeting: "Most of the time I just sat quietly," he said. "There are some of us old gray-haired folks that don't want the government involved in any of our business. I am fed up with Washington and you can quote me on that."

September 9, 2009 - Qunettia Robinson is reflected in a frame of family photos shattered by bullets from a gunfight outside of her apartment on Clementine. Robinson was hit in the shoulder as she and her boyfriend ducked to protect her children.

September 22, 2009 - The Dalai Lama was greeted with a fist bump from Memphis Mayor Pro Tem Myron Lowery and smiles from Shelby County Mayor A C Wharton on the banks of the Mississippi River. The Dalai Lama was in Memphis to receive the 2009 International Freedom Award from the National Civil Rights Museum.

October 6, 2009 - Rodriguez Fisher (left) and James Bills carry one of the last horses from the Grand Carousel at the closed Libertyland amusement park. The historic carousel is being dismantled and stored to protect it from damage while it waits for restoration and a new home.

October 7, 2009 - Memphis Grizzlies' Allen Iverson addresses the media with the news he will be out approximately three weeks with his hamstring injury prior to the first home preseason game. Iverson appeared in three regular-season games for the Grizzlies before being granted a personal leave of absence. The 10-time All-Star later agreed to terminate his one-year, $3.1 million contract with the Grizzlies.

October 13, 2009 - Fellow soldier Chaza Adams salutes as family and friends gather at West Tennessee Veterans Cemetery to say a final farewell to PFC Brandon Owens, who was killed in Afghanistan. According to the Department of Defense, Owens, 21, was killed in the Wardak province Oct. 2, 2009. Enemy forces attacked his unit using small arms fire, the DOD said. Owens was assigned to the 118th Military Police Company based out of Fort Bragg, N.C.

October 14, 2009 - Shelby County Mayor and newly elected Memphis Mayor AC Wharton thanks his supporters at his Victory Celebration held at Minglewood Hall. Wharton will fill the unexpired term of former Mayor Willie Herenton, who resigned July 30. Sworn into office two weeks later, Wharton vowed to "help bring an end to the rancor and divisiveness that has too often defined our politics and clogged the engine of our forward progress."

October 27, 2009 - Volunteers from all over the country, like the two American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals members holding this pup, flew in to help evaluate the animals at the City of Memphis Animal Services shelter on Tchulahoma Road. The Shelby County Sheriff's Office took control of the shelter after an investigation revealed that many of the animals were improperly cared for or neglected.